Representatives of the Slovenian GEN-I electricity provider on Monday announced at a press conference that they would offer Croatian households and small businesses electricity at a price that is up to 30% cheaper than currently provided by the Croatian state-owned provider HEP.
Households can already switch to GEN-I and can immediately expect electricity bills that will be at least 10% cheaper, the company's CEO, Robert Golob, said.
Whoever decides to accept GEN-I as their electricity provider by the end of July can count on electricity being 30% cheaper before the year's end, he added.
Contracted prices would be guaranteed at least until the end of 2015 and may be reduced even further during that period.
Golob believes that a false impression exists that electricity is cheap in Croatia.
He explained that last year the price of electricity in Croatia went up whereas on the European market the prices of electricity had fallen, which leaves room for others to enter the market.
GEN-I plans to win over around 20,000 consumers before the end of 2013 and 50,000 by the end of 2014, and it also plans to take over 17% of the total electricity market in Croatia within three years.
He explained that there was no penalty charged or physical intervention required for consumers who wished to change their electricity provider.
GEN-I is Slovenia's largest energy and natural gas provider and one of the leading electricity traders in central and southeast Europe.
The company produces around 4.5 billion kilowatt hours of electricity each year and provides electricity and gas to consumers in Austria, Croatia, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Macedonia.
GEN-I has been active in Croatia since 2005 and provides electricity to several large companies and city administration offices.
